Justin E. Pierce

Justin Pierce is co-chair of Venable’s Intellectual Property Division. Justin has significant experience advising companies and their executives on how best to acquire, develop, and apply their intellectual property to achieve their business objectives. He has guided clients through a wide range of matters involving patent litigation, trademark and brand protection, anti-counterfeiting initiatives, copyright, design rights, trade secrets, and licensing. Justin is also well versed in strategies for handling rights of publicity, domain name, and social media disputes, and he routinely engages in international government affairs work involving intellectual property.

Justin’s practice includes:

Representing clients in litigation involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, and advertising claims in a variety of industries, including apparel, consumer goods, electronics, food and beverage, footwear, media, mobile device, pharmaceutical, software, and telecommunications. Justin has handled cases in U.S. federal courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission

Developing and implementing worldwide brand protection strategies for companies around the world, ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations. Justin regularly assists clients in identifying vulnerabilities in their business model and devising innovative solutions to protect their brands and content, and their company’s reputation in the international marketplace

Working with regulatory and law enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad to address counterfeiting issues. Justin has helped brand owners recover substantial damages through enforcement actions and litigation aimed at high-value counterfeiters, and worked with clients to facilitate the seizure and destruction of numerous counterfeit products

Working with clients to maximize and better leverage the value of their intellectual property through licensing and other transactions. Justin has managed complex intellectual property licensing on an international scale in matters dealing with patents, trademarks, and copyrights

Providing counsel regarding cross-border trade, customs, and outreach to foreign governments on intellectual property matters. Justin has worked with a number of U.S. agencies responsible for intellectual property and trade enforcement issues on behalf of clients

Prior to joining Venable, Justin served as an in-house counsel to a major multinational corporation for a number of years. In this role, Justin led a government relations initiative that enhanced company intellectual property enforcement efforts in key markets around the world. This experience gave him substantial knowledge of the business and strategy issues that challenge executives and their in-house legal teams.

Justin is also an inventor who currently holds a patent and a number of published applications dealing with mobile applications, augmented and virtual reality, gaming, and anti-counterfeiting technology.

Before law school, Justin served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, and attained the rank of captain.

Related Industries

Experience

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Government Experience

Captain, United States Army

Representative Matters

Managed numerous intellectual property litigation matters on behalf of a major multinational mobile device manufacturer, including management of §337 patent litigation in the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), and intellectual property litigation in various U.S. federal district courts

Represented a third party in a patent lawsuit involving a method of connecting computers securely over a wireless network. (In re Certain Devices with Secure Communication Capabilities, Components Thereof, and Products Containing the Same); ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-818

Represented one of the defendants in a patent lawsuit involving form-based operating systems used in Internet-connected computing and mobile devices. (Cyberfone v. Cellco, et al.)

Represented a major defense contractor and defended against an infringement action brought in the Court of Federal Claims, involving a patent related to the use of night vision goggles in conjunction with full-color cockpit displays. (Honeywell Int’l Inc. v. U.S.); 70 Fed. Cl. 424 (2006)

Represented a major pharmaceutical company and established patent infringement by a generic drug company in a multi-month patent trial involving a multi-billion-dollar anti-infective agent. 2004 WL 2973831 (N.D. W.Va.)

Managed IP due diligence and review in numerous merger and acquisition transactions, including providing strategic advice on the scope and value of the target company's intellectual property, enforcement capability, infringement risks, and the impact of ongoing intellectual property litigation

Represented a major international digital publishing company in a government affairs and advocacy matter regarding international copyright law issues

Managed international intellectual property and brand protection-related advocacy and government relations on behalf of a major multinational corporation